Democratic-led states say new ethics policy would put DOJ 'above the law'

By Jan Wolfe and David Thomas

April 7 (Reuters) - A coalition of Democratic state attorneys general on Monday urged the U.S. Justice Department to abandon a proposal that would constrain state-level ethics investigations of federal prosecutors.

In a 14-page memo submitted to the Justice Department, 20 state attorneys general laid out their opposition to the March 3 proposal, saying it would "allow the DOJ to insulate employees accused of professional misconduct" and infringe on states’ sovereign power to discipline attorneys licensed in their jurisdictions.

“U.S. DOJ is attempting to place itself and its attorneys above the law," said California Attorney General Rob Bonta, one of the letter's signatories, in a press release. "It is unethical for the federal government to have unchecked control over any attorney’s conduct, and it remains critical for the states to retain their independent authority over attorneys licensed or practicing within their jurisdiction."

The letter was one of more than one million public comments submitted on the Justice Department's proposed regulation, which was posted in the Federal Register last month.

All U.S. states maintain attorney ethics rules that prohibit misconduct such as conflicts of interest, dishonesty or other professional breaches.

The proposed rule would allow the U.S. attorney general to review misconduct allegations against current or former Justice Department attorneys and request that disciplinary authorities at the state level suspend their investigations.

Former U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi signed the draft rule before being fired by President Donald Trump last week. The rule was open for public comment for 30 days starting on Thursday before it can go into effect.

In a notice of proposed rulemaking, the Justice Department said the new requirements would help weed out politically motivated complaints against prosecutors.

A Justice Department official told Reuters the proposed rule would not give the agency the authority to outright end a state bar disciplinary investigations, only to put states' probes on hold while it reviews them.

The proposal drew immediate criticism from former federal prosecutors, bar associations and other non-governmental organizations.

More than 130 former federal prosecutors in Chicago — including former Chicago U.S. attorneys Dan Webb, Scott Lassar, Patrick Fitzgerald and Zachary Fardon — argued in an April 6 letter that the proposed rule will "undermine public confidence in the integrity of government attorneys by delaying or eliminating disciplinary investigations."

Several current and former Justice Department lawyers are facing complaints from outside groups for actions taken since Trump returned to the presidency last year. They include Ed Martin, the department's pardon attorney, and Lindsey Halligan, a former prosecutor who brought criminal charges — later thrown out of court — ​against Trump adversaries James Comey ​and Letitia James.

In a potential test of the Justice Department's proposed rule, a group of attorneys, legal scholars and former judges critical of Justice Department policies under Trump asked the District of Columbia Bar on Tuesday to investigate Drew C. Ensign, a senior DOJ immigration official, for alleged professional misconduct in multiple high-profile federal immigration cases, including challenges to the Trump administration’s use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged gang members.

Ensign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.